Christmas Quartet
by A Wandering Minstrel
Summary: A series of related oneshots featuring Harry Dresden, Connie Murphy and Anna Murphy and centering around the holidays. TVVERSE.
1. Simple Gifts

**Title: **Christmas Quartet: "Simple Gifts" (Part 1)

**Characters:** Harry, Murphy, Anna (Murphy's daughter) Spoilers: None.

**Rating: **G

**Summary:** Murphy makes a Christmas Eve visit to Harry.

"Behave yourself," I told my daughter, after rapping on Harry Dresden's door.

"I always behave myself," she replied, primly. "Even for the crazy wizard guy."

"He's not crazy," I said. "Exactly..."

Harry came into view and gave me a wave as he came to the door. Anna was sticking her tongue out at me, but it was quickly put away when the door opened and she replaced it with a gloriously innocent smile instead.

"Hey Murph," Harry greeted me, warmly. "Merry - " He caught sight of Anna. "...Christmas?"

"You too," I replied. "This is my daughter, Anna. Anna, this is Mr. Dresden."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, offering his hand.

I could tell Anna liked that. A lot grown-ups treat kids like kids. It drove Anna crazy. She shook his hand firmly. "You too."

"C'min," he invited us, gesturing backwards. He rubbed his hand on his sweater, removing the water transferred from Anna's glove. "It's cold out there, yikes."

I pushed Anna ahead of me. Her eyes went this way and that, observing all the weird stuff Harry decorates his place with. The usual candles were everywhere, this time with a festive green and red motif. They let off a little heat which was nice. Harry closed the door behind us before the wind blew out any of the flames.

"You want some hot chocolate or something?" He asked. His eyes kept moving from one of us to the other, comparing. "I have some in the kitchen."

"We're just here for a minute," I declined. "We're about to hit the road."

"Yeah? Where ya headed?"

"It's a surprise," Anna said. "But I know it has a pool because I had to pack my swimsuit."

For some reason, in that perceptive way he has, Harry instantly understood that this was an extremely important detail. He looked suitably impressed. "Very cool."

"We go every year," I explained further. "Just the two of us."

I got Anna for Christmases in the custody settlement. I don't have family to go to and it seemed a shame to be holed up in my little, not very clean or well-stocked apartment. Anna didn't mind being in an hotel for the holiday (provided it had a pool, she swims like a fish) and was always excited about the surprise. She acts far too grown-up for her age (who does that remind me of?) and its one of the few times I see her go back to being a kid again.

"Well, you'll need hot chocolate for the road," Harry declared. He gave me a lopsided grin. "I have marshmallows."

"Well, if there's marshmallows," I agreed, with a smile of my own. I squeezed Anna's shoulder. "What do you say?"

She tilted her head back to look up at me. "It's cool."

"Perfect," Harry said.

It suddenly occurred to me, rather guiltily, that Harry didn't have any more family to spend Christmas with than I did. He didn't even have an Anna.

We got rid of our winter gear and followed Harry down the hall. He was moving slowly.

"How are you?" I asked, concerned.

The real reason I'd dropped by, aside from dropping off the present I had in the pocket of my jeans, was to check on him. He'd been shot in the back last week, with a bullet meant for me. He'd been home for a few days now and I wanted to make sure he was functional before I went somewhere he couldn't call me for help.

"I'm okay," he dismissed it.

He was such a liar. I could see a pillow and blanket on the couch, and a pile of clothes I'd grabbed from his room, telling me he hadn't been upstairs yet. When we arrived in the kitchen I saw the bottle of prescription painkillers he'd been given was half empty. I didn't press him, though. I wouldn't want him pressing me. I turned off my detective's eyes and pretended everything was fine.

"Whoa," Anna said.

She made a beeline to the skull sitting on the counter. I swear that skull moves every time I'm at his place and I honestly hope it's just because he dusts it regularly or something, because I really don't want it to be because he carries it everywhere with him.

"Is that _real_?" Anna demanded, poking at it.

"Anna," I warned.

"It's okay. It's real," Harry confirmed.

He stirred a pot that was already on the oven rimmer. It had a chocolaty smell coming from it. Figures he would make his hot chocolate from scratch. Maybe his kettle explodes if he uses a mix. I took a seat at the kitchen table.

"How old is it?" Anna wondered.

"Very," Harry answered.

"How come somebody wrote on it?"

"Dunno. Maybe they didn't like'm much."

"Whose is it?"

"Dunno."

"Why do you have it, then?"

Harry gave me a look over his shoulder that clearly told me he thought she was just like me. I have to admit she has a real future as a police interrogator. I shrugged and he grinned a little.

"I got it from my uncle," he explained.

"He must have been weird," Anna decided.

"Anna," I said, again.

"He was nuts," Harry confirmed. "But I like the skull. It's got character, don't you think?"

Anna considered this for a second. "Yeah."

"Sit down, Sherlock," I told her, pointing to a chair.

She made a show of coming to join me. Harry was stifling laughter, I could tell even with his back turned to me. He gave me that look again, over his shoulder and I had the urge to smack him. Instead, I ended up laughing. He served the hot chocolate out in a set of mugs that didn't match and looked like they'd been picked up from the Salvation Army store. Anna's had Mickey Mouse on it, mine was from Florida and his might have said '#1 Grandma' if all the writing was still there.

Harry easily got Anna talking about school and karate lessons and our cups emptied quickly. He seemd to know just what questions to ask and what to be shocked by and what to be impressed by, without being patronizing about it. I was mostly silent, watching the two of them interact. Anna's mouth was going a mile a minute and Harry managed to keep up, most of the time with just a twitch of eyebrow or quirk of his lips. After about half an hour, he started to look worn-out and I knew it was time to leave him to rest and for us to hit the road. I rinsed out our cups in the sink for him while he walked Anna to the door, relating some tale involving a Christmas tree and an old tutor of his named Bob. I joined them a moment later.

"I brought you a present," I told him, feeling somewhat awkward. Anna's eyes watched as the present came from my pocket and changed hands with Harry. "I saw it in a shop, and I thought you'd like it." I didn't add that it was the 10th shop I'd looked in and was owned by a man who looked just like Gandalf the Grey.

"Thank you!" he said, turning it over in his hands. He looked thrilled. "I have a present for you, too, it's in the back. Hold on a sec."

He got up and left the room. Anna looked at me with suspicious eyes.

"Is he your boyfriend?" She demanded.

"Shh! No!" I hissed, quickly looking over to make sure Harry wasn't in hearing range. "He's just a friend."

"Does he not have electricity?" She gestured to the cluster of silver candles on the nearby table.

"Shh!" I laughed, swatting at her. "I can't take you anywhere."

"He makes good hot chocolate," she allowed.

I agreed and plopped her hat down on her head. Down the hall, I thought I heard whispering, but decided it was just the wind outside. It was heading towards a snow storm, and I silently hoped that we'd be out of the city before the worst of it hit.

"I didn't have time to wrap," Harry announced, as he entered. He handed me a wooden box and smiled one of those great sheepish smiles he has. "And, even if I had, it would probably look about that good."

"It's okay," I assured him. "Thank you."

"And, for you," he turned to Anna. He pulled something from his pocket. "Because every kid should have one of these, and Santa doesn't make'm."

"I'm too old to believe in Santa," Anna declared. She eyed whatever he was holding with great fascination.

Harry turned to give me a look that was wryly aghast, if that's even possible. "Murphy, what are you teaching this kid?" He shook his head and turned back to Anna, crouching in front of her. I thought that must be killing his back. "Chin down." Anna obediently lowered her head and he hung something around her neck. She lifted the pendant to stare cross-eyed at it.

"What is it?" She asked.

"It's amber," he explained. "And it'll keep you safe."

His hand closed over hers and something in there began to pulse with a bright golden light. Anna's eyes lit up like, well, like a child. There was utter delight on her face. It was beautiful.

"What did you do?" She whispered.

"Magic," he replied.

He removed his hand and the glow stopped, but Anna kept staring at the pendant. So did I. After a moment be both snapped out of it.

"Thank you, Mr. Dresden," she said, genuinely.

"You're very welcome," he replied. He leaned in and whispered something to her that I couldn't hear. She nodded, with a small smile. He straightened up again.

Anna opened the door and slipped out before I finished with the buttons on my jacket. She skipped a little in the falling snow and then jumped with both feet into a pile of it that had collected by Harry's door.

"You didn't have to do that," I told Harry, watching her little dance.

"I got a bunch in the back," he dismissed it. Another lie. "She's a good kid, Murphy."

"Yeah," I smiled. "She is."

"She has your mouth."

I glared at him. "Shut up, Dresden."

He laughed at me and I started laughing with him. Weird how that happens. I turned my gaze from his smile and looked up at the sky, judging the weather patterns. The clouds were broken up enough for me to just make out the North star sparkling through them. My eyes caught something in the doorway.

"Is that mistletoe?"

Harry blushed and gave me another sheepish smile. "It keeps the fairies away."

I shook my head. "Of course it does. Fairies are terrible this time of year."

He shrugged, his eyes twinkling in the light of the candles. Those of eyes of his make me nervous sometimes, but tonight they just looked content. I realized it wasn't a look a saw from him often.

"Drive safe," he said.

"I will," I promised. "Try to rest."

"I will."

I glanced up at the mistletoe briefly and then stood on my tip toes to give him a gentle kiss on the lips. He was too surprised to kiss back, but it didn't matter. When I pulled back, he had the same look of delight on his face that Anna had when he made her necklace glow. Magic.

"Merry Christmas," I told him.

"Merry Christmas," he replied.

I left, closing the door behind me. The cold seemed more severe without the warmth of the candles. Anna skipped over to me and immediately made a kissing face at me. I scooped her up and threw her over my shoulder, carrying her back to the car as she giggled wildly.


	2. Christmas Spirit

**Title:** Christmas Quartet: "Christmas Spirit" (Part 2)  
**Author:** awanderingbard  
**Characters:** Harry, Murphy, Anna (Murphy's daughter), Bob  
**Summary:** After Murphy makes a Christmas Eve visit to Harry, he opens his present. (Harry's POV)

"Is that mistletoe?"

My cheeks flared up, as they are wont to do when I really wish they wouldn't. It's hard to pull off dashing and romantic when your cheeks are lit up like Rudolph's nose.

"It keeps the faeries away," I said, uselessly.

Murphy shook her head, with a smile. "Of course it does. Faeries are terrible this time of year."

I shrugged and stared her down. A lot of people don't like to hold my gaze, but Murphy does it without a flinch. She had a relaxed, happy look in her eyes tonight and something sort of mischievous in there.

"Drive safe," I told her.

"I will, try to rest."

"I will," I promised.

I moved to open the door for her, but before I could, she was kissing me. I was too surprised to do anything about it, kiss her back or put my hands anywhere useful or even really realize what was happening before she'd pulled away again. I smiled at her dumbly.

"Merry Christmas," she said.

"Merry Christmas," I replied, automatically.

Then she was gone in a burst of cool air from outside. I watched her until she was around the corner, a shrieking Anna flung over her shoulder. I watched after she was gone too, my brain fully reverted to middle school.

Murphy got me a present. Murphy kissed me. Murphy _likes_ me.

"Harry, you're gaping."

I closed my mouth and turned to face Bob. I couldn't decide what look he had on his face: amused, exasperated or questioning. Maybe a combination of the three of them. I straightened my shoulders in a feeble attempt to regain my dignity, but my dumb smile returned and the effect didn't last long.

"Was Lt. Murphy pleased with that overpriced trinket you purchased for her?" He asked, snarkily.

"She didn't open it here," I told his smirk. "And it wasn't overpriced. You haven't bought things since they bartered with livestock. There's been inflation since then."

"If you insist."

"Anna liked the necklace, though," I shared, proudly. I thought that I did well for a spur of the moment thing, especially with Bob hovering nearby informing me I was a sentimental twit.

"It was worth a good deal of money, Harry," he lamented. "If you didn't want it, I don't see why you couldn't have sold it and paid the rent. Besides, didn't you have to kill someone to get it?"

"Not some**one**," I corrected. "A goat. It was possessed. I had to exorcise it. It didn't die. The compania leader gave me the necklace as payment."

"A goat?"

I shrugged. "It was in Bulgaria. Things are weird there."

Bob sighed a long-suffering sigh. I ignored him and headed back to the shop front and my desk, which I had destroyed trying to find Murphy's present as quickly as possible. Bob had finally got my attention to point it out where it had sat on a shelf right in front of me, but not before I'd knocked things on the floor and pushed papers out of their stacks.

"Besides," I continued. "It was amber. Amber protects children."

"Well, I suppose I should be pleased you retained at least one of things I have taught you," Bob sighed, following me.

I lifted a messed up ball of amulets, necklaces and foci, chains and cords in hopeless knots. I had pulled Anna's necklace out of it. Some of them were charged and ready to go and the magic from them bounced off one another haphazardly.

"Stars and Stones, Harry," Bob groaned.

"Hey, they still work," I defended myself.

"Yes, if ever you are attacked in here you can throw that at them," Bob drawled. "Minions of Hell will flee in fear from your great ball of jewelry."

"You know, it's Christmas," I told him, returning the ball to my desk drawer. I took a seat and rested my aching back. The next time I take a bullet for someone, I'm putting my leg in the way instead. "You could be a little more cheery. I don't need a ghost of Christmas doom, I am fully in the 'God Bless us Everyone' spirit."

"Only because you are stoned on analgesics and the fact that the policewoman kissed you," he argued. "Before she and her daughter arrived you were merely stoned and pessimistic."

"She also gave me a present," I said, happily.

I retrieved the neatly wrapped present from where I'd left it on the desk and spun it in my hands. It looked like she'd gone to one of those places at the mall to have it wrapped. The paper was smoothed perfectly and a bunch of curly ribbon held a tag on the top. It just said 'For Harry' on it.

"Are you going to open it?" Bob asked.

"Don't rush me," I told him.

He sighed, folded his arms impatiently and glared at me. I carefully undid the ribbons and slid my finger under the tape. When I was a kid, my dad could never afford a lot of presents at Christmas. I never really resented him for it, but I'd learned to open the ones I did get slowly. It prolonged the enjoyment of it. After my dad died and I went to live with my uncle, I got so many presents at Christmas, I didn't know what to do with them. They never really meant the same to me as those few my dad got, though. The feeling behind them wasn't as genuine.

I pulled the paper off and set it aside. It was a book, which I had sort of guessed from the shape and weight of it. I waved my hand and a few flames jumped to life on some of the nearby candles, giving me light to see better. It was old and it smelled like dust and knowledge, like someone's attic. The pages looked to be well-thumbed and the inside cover was inscribed with a message of 'Happy Birthday, Alexander! Love, your sister Elizabeth, June 1944.'.

"The Complete History of Illusion, Prestidigitation and Conjuring," I read the cover page.

I flipped through the pages randomly. There were a few illustrations of different magicians through the ages: Robert-Houdin, Maskelyne and Cooke and Houdini. I caught the heading of a chapter about the Magician's Oath. I had very solemnly taken it at age six, in front of my father, so I could be present when he practiced his tricks. At the time, it had seemed extremely important but I could remember the twinkle in his eye as he took me through it. I associate that twinkle he had with being loved and safe.

"This is cool," I said. I flipped through some more pages and stopped to show Bob a picture of a magician sawing a lady in half. "That freaked me out so badly when I was five, I couldn't sleep after I saw it. I didn't believe my dad when he said it was just a trick. I was sure he could do real magic."

Bob seemed to have softened his bah humbug expression a little. "It would seem an apt gift."

"Yeah, Murphy did good," I agreed.

I got lost in the pages again and began to read one section out loud. Bob seemed interested and he settled in to listen to it, so I kept going. When I came to the end of the book, it was just after midnight. The wind howled outside and the snow started to swirl into the promised blizzard. I hoped Murphy was out of the city or had arrived at her destination.

"Your present's in the lab," I told Bob. "You can open it now. It's officially Christmas."

"I can hardly _open _anything," he pointed out, dryly.

He was smiling in that stiff way that I knew meant he was pleased, however. Like I wouldn't buy him a Christmas present. He's only my best friend. Sometimes ghosts are harder to figure out than women.

"Merry Christmas, Bob," I said to him, stretching my arms over my head. My back twinged with a sharp pain. Definitely aiming for the leg next time.

"Merry Christmas, Harry," he returned, with a little incline of his head.

He flashed away and I settled back to start reading the book from the beginning. I felt the goofy smile returning to my face now that Bob wasn't there to comment on it.

Murphy got me a present. Murphy kissed me. Murphy _likes_ me.

Who needs painkillers with a high like that?


	3. Nostalgia

**Title:** Christmas Quartet: "Nostalgia" (part 3)  
**Author:** awanderingbard  
**Characters:** Murphy, Anna (Murphy's daughter)  
**Summary:** After she makes a Christmas Eve visit to Harry, Murphy opens her gift and does a bit of reflecting. (Murphy's POV)

I watched the snow gently falling outside the hotel window. There had been a few dicey moments when we were on the outskirts of the blizzard, but we'd made it out of the city safely and the rest of the drive was a snap. Anna was in full 'Harry' mode for the whole trip. Was he really a wizard? Did I like him? Was I going to date him? Isn't he nice? He seemed to have entranced her with that charm of his and I suspected I would be hearing nothing that wasn't about him until Anna and I made another visit. Maybe on the way back we could check on him again.

Anna was asleep now, in one of the large hotel beds. Our room was very nice. Not too small and not decorated with too much pink and frills. Neither Anna nor I were pink or frilly girls. She hadn't taken her necklace off and had been fiddling with it for the entire drive. I think that she was trying to make it glow again, but it remained unlit.

The box Harry had given me sat on the little table in front of me. I hadn't opened it yet. I wanted to be by myself when I did, in case it was something...weird. My own skull to carry around the apartment with me, maybe? My own personal supply of ant vomit? I couldn't even imagine what Harry might have picked out for me.

The box itself was quite pretty. It was smooth, red wood and smelled like a log cabin or firewood. It had intricate little designs carved into it and a small silver clasp holding it closed. I took a deep breath, undid the clasp and lifted the lid. There was a card right at the top. 'Murph' read the envelope. The card was what I would have expected from him. Irreverent and enough to make me snort, with the same kind of humour as Harry's own. The kind that has me laughing in the face of death, despite myself. Under the punchline was his familiar, left handed and eccentric scrawl: 'Thanks for putting up with me.' I smiled and set the card aside, then looked into the box to see what was underneath. I gave a little gasp and lifted the present out gingerly.

When I was a kid, I used to visit my grandmother a lot. She had this huge collection of those little Russian stacking dolls, Matryoshkas, and I loved to play with them. I'd take them all apart and line them up all over the basement floor, conducting military maneuvers and ordering them around.

Inside the red box was a Matryoshka, painted in perfect detail as a cop. She had a beaked cap and her hair was pulled neatly into a bun underneath it. Her uniform had all the right buttons. She was beautiful. I cracked her open and took out the dolls inside her. Each one was just as detailed, right down to the smallest, which was shorter than my pinkie.

My stomach did that floppy thing it sometimes does around him. Like when he gave me that look when he saw me dressed up for the opera, or when he kissed me to activate the weird ant vomit stuff or sometimes when he smiles at me or when I wake up from one of my nightmares when he saves me instead of being the one I need saving from. Total, pathetic, squee-he-likes-me moments that I always firmly kick myself for afterwards. I am **not **fourteen years old and he is **not** the cute quarterback who has his locker next to me. We're Murphy and Harry, partners in crime.

I couldn't remember ever telling him about the dolls. It was like one of those things he just knew. Then it came to me. Shortly after I started working with Harry, which seemed like a million years ago now, we had ended up in an antique shop which had a bunch of the dolls. I think that I had mentioned off-handedly how much I'd loved them as a kid. He teased me, saying he didn't pick me out as a girl who would play with dolls. It was ages ago and I couldn't believe he remembered that. I barely remembered that.

Anna stirred in the bed nearby and mumbled something about sheep. I carefully stacked the dolls inside one another and put them back in the box, replacing the card on top. I got up and opened one of our suitcases to set out the presents on the dresser top for when Anna woke up. Some from me, some from her father and his new blonde wife (of whom, I reminded myself, I was not jealous). His were bigger than mine, but I think that I'd trumped him anyway. I'd given her a wizard. Beat that.

I changed into my pajamas, took a pill and crawled into the big, comfy bed next to Anna's. She muttered something else about sheep and turned over to curl up in a ball. I smiled and reached to turn out the light over my bed. I could have sworn that I saw her necklace glow for a second. I shook my head and decided it was time for sleep.

"Mmm'gic," Anna muttered.

I agreed with her. It was all kind of magical. Not that I believe in that stuff.

Well, maybe just at Christmas.


	4. Happy New Year

**Title:** Christmas Quartet: "Happy New Year" (part 4)   
**Author:** awanderingbard  
**Characters:** Harry, Murphy, Anna (Murphy's daughter)  
**Summary:** After they make their Christmas Eve a visit to Harry, Murphy and Anna drop by once more on New Year's Eve. (Harry's POV)

Normally on New Year's Eve I'd have a date, but I wasn't up to taking anyone out on the town this year. My back still hurt and I was out of the painkillers the hospital gave me. Bob was very dubious about me refilling my prescription. He thought I'd get addicted and let me tell you, I wasn't far-off. Those were some nice pills. I suspected that even the high of the pills would not drown out Bob's lectures, though. So, I was suffering through the back spasms as best I could and stuck to regular doses of ibuprofen. I was very grumpy and Bob was avoiding me.

There was a knock at my door and I groaned at the thought of getting up to answer it. I was on the living room couch, under a blanket, wallowing in self-pity. Extremely busy, in other words, and not inclined to be disturbed.

I got up with a sigh and shuffled towards the door. I couldn't see anyone through the shop window and I decided if someone had decided to ding-dong-ditch me, I was going to turn them into a toad. I didn't know how to do that, but I was sure Bob could help if I asked nicely.

As I neared the door, a small pair of eyes rose up and peered through the glass. They belonged to Anna Murphy. She was on her tip toes to see through the window and quickly dropped down when I came into view.

"Hi Mr. Dresden," Anna said, when I opened the door.

"Hello," I returned. "How was your trip?"

"Wicked," Anna said.

"You swim a lot?"

"Yep!"

"Excellent." I looked around. "Where's your mom?"

"Parking. We stopped by to see how you were." Her eyes flicked sideways for a moment and then back up to me. "And to use your bathroom."

"Ah," I said, stepping aside. "C'mon in. Down the hall to your right."

Anna removed her boots and hurried away from me. As she passed, my wizardly olfactory senses detected the smell of chlorine. I briefly pictured her with a mermaid's tail, decided it suited her and moved on to other things. Like Murphy, who had appeared in the doorway and was looking all relaxed from her vacation. Her face looked softer than normal, as though she wasn't tensing it up to deal with everything.

"Hey Murph," I greeted her.

"Hey Harry. How are you?" she asked, in her 'don't bullshit me' tone.

"Cold," I answered.

I shuffled around her and shut the door. The blizzard had been a good one and more light snow had fallen for most of the week. I really needed to shovel my walkway. I really needed some Vicodin too, but it, like the shoveling, was not likely to happen in the near future.

"Do you want some tea or something? Are you in a hurry?" I asked, hoping to steer away from my health.

"A bit Harry, yeah," Murphy replied, regretfully. She looked at her watch. "We're sort of behind schedule, but Anna really wanted to stop by and see you."

"It's alright," I said. "I'm not much company right no-_ow_!"

My back decided to go into a spasm. I closed my eyes and waited for it to pass. Then a pair of cold hands were up the back of my shirt and thumbs were digging into the exact place it hurt.

"Mmmm," I said, approvingly.

"Am I in the right spot?" Murphy asked.

"Ya-huh," I managed to get out. "It hurts everywhere except where the bullet went in."

"You twist funny to keep your back from hurting where the wound is and then all your muscles tense up from being in the wrong position," she explained. She gave a sharp slap to my shoulder. "Relax, Dresden."

It was very hard to relax when a beautiful woman, who not a week earlier kissed you and gave you a very nice Christmas present, has her hands up your shirt and was doing wonderful, wonderful things with them. I wasn't about to tell her that, though and attempted to release the tension in my shoulders. My muscles twinged but Murphy pushed her fingers into them and the pain started to ease.

"You're very good at this," I said.

"I've been shot before too," she said. "I know how it feels." She paused. "Thank you, for pushing me out of the way."

"You've already thanked me," I reminded her. "More than once. You're welcome. I accept cash donations, though, if you feel the need to show your appreciation in a more concrete form."

She gave me another slap on my shoulder. "I'm not that grateful."

"Fair enough," I said.

My eyes started to close as I relaxed and I made happy noises before I could stop myself. My head dropped forward and Murphy moved her hands up to my neck, where a particular large knot made me hum a little as she massaged it. Murphy has very nice hands.

Anna's very pointed footsteps caused Murphy to draw back sooner than I would have liked. My back protested the lack of her touch loudly, but overall, it felt much better. Anna stopped stomping and skipped the rest of the way to us, landing with a bounce at Murphy's side.

"I got you a present," she said. She pulled a small box from her pocket and held it out to me. "It's not very fancy or anything, but I wanted to get you something 'cause you gave me something and it's wicked." She gestured to the necklace that still hung around her neck.

"Thank you very much," I said, surprised and touched.

"I'm going to hug you," Anna announced.

I blinked. "Alright."

She hugged me around the waist. I couldn't bend much to reciprocate, but I put my arm around her back as best I could and the general feeling got across. After a few moments, Murphy said something that I think was in Spanish, because Anna replied '_Si_, Mom' and released me.

"We should get going," Murphy said.

"You should come for dinner when you feel better," Anna told me. She jammed the words together as though she had only a second or two to get them out before she turned back into a pumpkin.

Murphy made a sort of squawking noise. "Only if you want to, Harry," she said, quickly. "The next time Anna's with me."

"Sure," I accepted. "That'd be nice."

Both Murphys relaxed and Anna gave me a wave as Murphy opened the door. "Bye Mr. Dresden, Happy New Year!"

"Back atcha," I told her. I raised my eyes to Murphy. "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Harry," she returned. "Thanks for your Christmas present, by the way. It was lovely. I didn't know you were even listening that day."

"I always listen to you, Murphy," I told her, surprised. She looked sort of taken aback. "You'd kill me if I didn't."

She laughed. "It'd be nice if you _listened_ as well as listened," she said.

"New Year's resolution," I promised. She gave me a skeptical look, but smiled. "Thank you for your present, too. It was great."

"I thought you must have a lot of books on magic already," she said, almost shyly. "But the guy at the shop thought you'd like it, when I described you to him."

"It was great," I repeated. "It made me remember a lot of good things." We stared at each other for a moment. "I'm going to hug you."

"Okay."

I hugged her and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Anna gave me a smile as I looked at her over Murphy's shoulder. I winked at her and stepped back. Murphy smiled at me too, and I noted that the two Murphy women had the same smile. She stepped off into the night, taking Anna by the hand. I closed the door behind them and turned my attention to the present Anna had got me.

There was a ridiculous amount of scotch tape used to hold the wrapping on and I had to rip into the paper, which stuck to my fingers. I opened the long box and inside was a bookmark. It was a red, faux leather and there was a quotation in gold written on it:

"_The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."_

I brought it to the kitchen, where the book Murphy had got me for Christmas sat on the table and swapped it in place of the playing card that I was using for a bookmark. Then I sat down and wondered why I ever thought I needed painkillers, when a cop and her daughter could make me feel this good.


End file.
